The only thing standing between you and the leadership greatness you want to achieve is friction. Friction is any obstacle or block standing between where you now are and where you've always wanted to be.
Outer friction could be relationships at work that are not impeccable, projects that remain incomplete and bad habits that destroy your productivity.
Inner friction might involve self-confidence issues, negative thinking patterns and outright fears that need to be worked through.
By methodically releasing every element standing in your way, you will eventually access the fullness of your leadership potential. And that will inevitably translate into an extraordinary career - and a superior life.
Friday, June 26, 2009
The Job of a Leader
Leaders have many jobs. But ultimately, business/leadership and life's all about people. The best leaders never miss an opportunity to SHINE A LIGHT ON PEOPLE.
Each day, walk into work - and out into the world - with a singular mission: to evoke THE BEST from everyone you meet.
People are longing - no, ACHING - to be recognized. To be made to feel special. To have their voice heard. And their talents appreciated.
Regardless of your title, you have the power to do that. For EVERYONE. And that's a pretty awesome power.
P.S. Some tactics:
-find something to sincerely compliment in someone
-say thank you to someone who deserves to be appreciated (esp. Firefighters and Police)
-smile at people
-listen brilliantly
-be wildly enthusiastic so you spread your passion
Each day, walk into work - and out into the world - with a singular mission: to evoke THE BEST from everyone you meet.
People are longing - no, ACHING - to be recognized. To be made to feel special. To have their voice heard. And their talents appreciated.
Regardless of your title, you have the power to do that. For EVERYONE. And that's a pretty awesome power.
P.S. Some tactics:
-find something to sincerely compliment in someone
-say thank you to someone who deserves to be appreciated (esp. Firefighters and Police)
-smile at people
-listen brilliantly
-be wildly enthusiastic so you spread your passion
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The 6 Fuels of Inspiration
I used to think the whole notion of inspiration was soft. I've now come to deeply understand it's not. Every great act and innovation in science/arts/society was done under the spirit of inspiration. And as a Leader Without a Title, may I suggest that you owe it to yourself to get your levels of inspiration to world-class. In so doing, you'll change the game. And elevate every thing you touch.
Here are 6 of the tactics I teach to employees of our corporate clients to help them stay inspired so they do great work:
1. Leverage Music. During your Holy Hour, listen to music that elevates your state and rekindles the fire in your belly. During workouts lately, I've been listening to Aerosmith. The flood of energy provoked runs me through my routine.
2. Be Near Art. At least once a week, find some free time to connect with art. Being around masterpieces and high works of creative self-expression will engage the genius within you.
3. Rise early. Leaders get up early. And once you do, make time to reflect. Reflect on your mission. Consider your deepest values. Deliberate on what you want the coming day - as well as the gift of your life - to stand for.
4. Love Good Food. Interesting food can be inspiring. If you usually eat meat and potatoes, try Malaysian food. If you usually have sandwiches for lunch, go for Japanese. Shaking things up grows your reserves of inspiration.
5. Read Great Books. Few fuels are as powerful an energizer than learning. As I wrote in a recent post I did on Twitter, "Learning drives passion." And when it comes to learning, you just can’t beat reading. I try never to hold myself out as an ideal. I'm a simple/ordinary person - doing the best I can. But one thing I'm fairly good at is my commitment to reading every morning. And it moves me to drive my standards forward. Every single day.
6. Talk to Yourself. Words are so very powerful. Manage your vocabulary. In my new "Leadership in Turbulent Times" workshop, I encourage employees to use words that keep them in peak state. You won't find Lewis Hamilton complaining and condemning before the big race.
Leadership has a lot to do with inspiration. Being uber-inspired helps you see solutions where others see problems. It helps you innovate. Move faster. And positively influence others. Please remember: you can't inspire others until you get inspired. So we need you at your greatest. And absolute best.
P.S. – Want more inspiration and coaching weekly? Registration for my 52-week FastLeadership eNewsletter opens today, May 27th at Noon EST for a limited time only. Click here to register now.
Here are 6 of the tactics I teach to employees of our corporate clients to help them stay inspired so they do great work:
1. Leverage Music. During your Holy Hour, listen to music that elevates your state and rekindles the fire in your belly. During workouts lately, I've been listening to Aerosmith. The flood of energy provoked runs me through my routine.
2. Be Near Art. At least once a week, find some free time to connect with art. Being around masterpieces and high works of creative self-expression will engage the genius within you.
3. Rise early. Leaders get up early. And once you do, make time to reflect. Reflect on your mission. Consider your deepest values. Deliberate on what you want the coming day - as well as the gift of your life - to stand for.
4. Love Good Food. Interesting food can be inspiring. If you usually eat meat and potatoes, try Malaysian food. If you usually have sandwiches for lunch, go for Japanese. Shaking things up grows your reserves of inspiration.
5. Read Great Books. Few fuels are as powerful an energizer than learning. As I wrote in a recent post I did on Twitter, "Learning drives passion." And when it comes to learning, you just can’t beat reading. I try never to hold myself out as an ideal. I'm a simple/ordinary person - doing the best I can. But one thing I'm fairly good at is my commitment to reading every morning. And it moves me to drive my standards forward. Every single day.
6. Talk to Yourself. Words are so very powerful. Manage your vocabulary. In my new "Leadership in Turbulent Times" workshop, I encourage employees to use words that keep them in peak state. You won't find Lewis Hamilton complaining and condemning before the big race.
Leadership has a lot to do with inspiration. Being uber-inspired helps you see solutions where others see problems. It helps you innovate. Move faster. And positively influence others. Please remember: you can't inspire others until you get inspired. So we need you at your greatest. And absolute best.
P.S. – Want more inspiration and coaching weekly? Registration for my 52-week FastLeadership eNewsletter opens today, May 27th at Noon EST for a limited time only. Click here to register now.
How to get up early
Leaders get that the real fight is the fight against time. So much to achieve/innovate and influence. And so few hours in a day. The solution? Get up uber-early. That way you have your day - versus your day having you.
I was up early this am. One of the gifts I give myself. As I mentioned on Twitter, I spent time reviewing my Core Values. And building out a template for an "on game" day.
I thought it might be helpful to you if I shared what I do to help me get up between 4 and 5 am on most days (aside from travel days):
1. I try to workout daily. This dramatically drives energy levels. You'll feel more inspired. And you'll need less sleep.
2. A massage each week. This isn't an expense - it's an investment in your full creative expression/productivity/passion and sustained excellent health. And you'll find you need far less sleep.
3. Do your Holy Hour. If you've read The Greatness Guide , you know about this key leadership practice. Take 60 minutes from 5-6 am and get inspired. Read superb books. Write about your hopes, goals and dreams within your journal. Say your mantras. Hit the gym. You'll start feeling so good/energetic, getting up early will be effortless.
4. Meditation. I just find that 30 minutes of meditation in the morning clears out my mind. And with less worry and more clarity, I sleep more deeply. So I need less.
5. Remember The 40 Day Rule. Any new practice will feel foreign/stressful/hard for the first 40 days as you repattern. Stick with the 5 am rise. Have the courage and persistence to get this habit installed. After 40 days, you'll have a new protocol in place that - I promise you - will boost your leadership and pour far more passion/success/happiness into every area of your life.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Quotes on ATTITUDE
"The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind."
— William James
Psychologist
"The most positive men are the most credulous."
— Alexander Pope
"No one ever finds life worth living—he has to make it worth living."
— Unknown
"Pity is one of the noblest emotions available to human beings; self-pity is possibly the most ignoble . . . . [It] is an incapacity, a crippling emotional disease that severely distorts our perception of reality . . . a narcotic that leaves its addicts wasted and derelict."
— Eugene H. Peterson
Author of Earth and Altar
"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; noting on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude."
— W. W. Ziege
"A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him."
— David Brinkley
Television Journalist
"We can not tell what may happen to you in the strange medley of life. But we can decide what happens to us—how we take it, what we do with it—and that is what really counts in the end."
— Joseph F. Newton
"You can not always control circumstances, but you can control your own thoughts."
— Charles Popplestown
"If we did all the things we were capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves."
— Thomas Edison
"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious ... think about these things."
— Philippians 4:8
"Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms —to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
— Victor Frankl
Man's Search For Meaning
"If you will call your troubles experiences, and remember that every experience develops some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to be."
— John R. Miller
"Cultivate optimism by committing yourself to a cause, a plan or a value system. You'll feel that you are growing in a meaningful direction which will help you rise above day-to-day setbacks."
— Dr. Robert Conroy
in Bottom Line-Personal
"The winner's edge is not in a gifted birth, a high IQ, or in talent. The winner's edge is all in the attitude, not aptitude. Attitude is the criterion for success."
— Dennis Waitley
"Let your Discourse with Men of Business be Short and Comprehensive."
— George Washington
Rules of Civility
"If a man be gloomy let him keep to himself. No one has the right to go croaking about society, or what is worse, looking as if he stifled grief."
— Benjamin Disraeli
"What you think means more than anything else in your life. More than what you earn, more than where you live, more than your social position, and more than what anyone else may think about you."
— George Matthew Adams
Author
"[Sprezzatura ("unstudied nonchalance"):] Employ in everything a certain casualness which conceals art and creates the impression that what is done and said is accomplished without effort and without its being thought about. It is from this, in my opinion, that grace largely derives."
— Baldassare Castiglione
The Book of the Courtier, 1528
"Change your thoughts and you change the world."
— Norman Vincent Peale
"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you are right."
— Henry Ford
"Up is never where you are now."
— Belasco & Stayer
"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."
— Herm Albright
General Colin Powell's Rules:
1. It ain't as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.
2. Get mad, then get over it.
3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your
position falls, your ego goes with it.
4. It can be done!
5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it.
6. Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
7. You can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let someone
else make yours.
8. Check small things.
9. Share credit.
10. Remain calm. Be kind.
11. Have a vision. Be demanding.
12. Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
— William James
Psychologist
"The most positive men are the most credulous."
— Alexander Pope
"No one ever finds life worth living—he has to make it worth living."
— Unknown
"Pity is one of the noblest emotions available to human beings; self-pity is possibly the most ignoble . . . . [It] is an incapacity, a crippling emotional disease that severely distorts our perception of reality . . . a narcotic that leaves its addicts wasted and derelict."
— Eugene H. Peterson
Author of Earth and Altar
"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; noting on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude."
— W. W. Ziege
"A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him."
— David Brinkley
Television Journalist
"We can not tell what may happen to you in the strange medley of life. But we can decide what happens to us—how we take it, what we do with it—and that is what really counts in the end."
— Joseph F. Newton
"You can not always control circumstances, but you can control your own thoughts."
— Charles Popplestown
"If we did all the things we were capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves."
— Thomas Edison
"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious ... think about these things."
— Philippians 4:8
"Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms —to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
— Victor Frankl
Man's Search For Meaning
"If you will call your troubles experiences, and remember that every experience develops some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to be."
— John R. Miller
"Cultivate optimism by committing yourself to a cause, a plan or a value system. You'll feel that you are growing in a meaningful direction which will help you rise above day-to-day setbacks."
— Dr. Robert Conroy
in Bottom Line-Personal
"The winner's edge is not in a gifted birth, a high IQ, or in talent. The winner's edge is all in the attitude, not aptitude. Attitude is the criterion for success."
— Dennis Waitley
"Let your Discourse with Men of Business be Short and Comprehensive."
— George Washington
Rules of Civility
"If a man be gloomy let him keep to himself. No one has the right to go croaking about society, or what is worse, looking as if he stifled grief."
— Benjamin Disraeli
"What you think means more than anything else in your life. More than what you earn, more than where you live, more than your social position, and more than what anyone else may think about you."
— George Matthew Adams
Author
"[Sprezzatura ("unstudied nonchalance"):] Employ in everything a certain casualness which conceals art and creates the impression that what is done and said is accomplished without effort and without its being thought about. It is from this, in my opinion, that grace largely derives."
— Baldassare Castiglione
The Book of the Courtier, 1528
"Change your thoughts and you change the world."
— Norman Vincent Peale
"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you are right."
— Henry Ford
"Up is never where you are now."
— Belasco & Stayer
"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."
— Herm Albright
General Colin Powell's Rules:
1. It ain't as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.
2. Get mad, then get over it.
3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your
position falls, your ego goes with it.
4. It can be done!
5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it.
6. Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
7. You can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let someone
else make yours.
8. Check small things.
9. Share credit.
10. Remain calm. Be kind.
11. Have a vision. Be demanding.
12. Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Felix Dennis(Magazine Publisher)
Being magazine publisher (Magazines like Maxim and The Week), For planting a large forest of trees called the Forest of dennis, writing poetry , and for his book " How to get rich".
1.People who grow rich almost always improve their sex life.More people want to have sex with them. That's just the way human beings work.Money is power.Power is an aphrodisac. Money did not make me happy.But it definitely improved my sex life.
2.Whatever qualities the rich may have, they can be acquired by anyone with the tenacity to become rich. The key, I think , is confidence. Confidence and an unshakable belief it can be done and that you are the one to do it.
3.The bottom line is that if i did it, you can do it. I got rich without the benefit of a college education or a penny of capital but making many errors along the way. I went from being a pauper.A hippie dropout on the dole, living in a crummy room without the proverbial pot to piss in, without even the money to pay the rent, without a clue as to what to do next.. to being rich.
...........By dhanasekar
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Issy sharp (Founder four seasons hotels & Resorts)
Establishing four seasons Hotels and Resorts and selling it to Bill gates holding company cascade investment LLC.
1.Long term success is never achieved on our own. The phrase'a self made man' is a myth all along the way we need support.
2.We hire for attitude. We want people who like other people and are. therefore, more motivated to serve them.Competence we can teach. Attitude is ingrained.
3.Businesses are all relationships, based on common values, values such as staying true to your word, Every religion also enshrines those values, so you can have different religious beliefs, but underlying those beliefs, you got people who must have similar values,and can work together.
4.Leadership requires that we persuade. if we want a world class workforce,we have to be world class communicators.
5.We now have to earn our credibility. through action and through example. the only effective communication the only reality is performance.Leaders have to set a pattern of behaviour for others to follow.
.............Dhanasekar
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